Search This Blog

Hamantaschen are triangular shaped cookies, traditionally filled with poppy seed filling, that are eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim. These cookies are now filled with all sorts of jam fillings. I have also created cheesecake, peanut butter and chocolate and brownie filled Hamantaschen. The trick to Hamantaschen that keep their shape while baking is to refrigerate the formed and filled cookies on the baking sheet for an hour before baking. This helps the dough to set and not spread in the oven. The other tricks are to use very little filling (no more than ½ teaspoon--It looks like too little, but spreads while baking.) and, instead of jams or jellies, to use Solo Brand Pastry and Pie Fillings. These are canned fillings that can be found in the Kosher aisle of most grocery stores. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with Kosher markets, you will find more of a variety of fillings there.

Directions1. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until light and fluffy.4. Add vanilla and mix until combined.5. Add dry ingredients in fourths, alternating with orange juice in thirds, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Be sure to beat thoroughly after each addition, without overmixing.6. Form dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Flatten into a disk.7. Refrigerate overnight.8. Preheat oven to 350°F.9. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Lightly flour rolling pin and 3-inch round cookie cutter.10. Roll out dough to ⅛-inch thick.11. Cut into rounds using cookie cutter.12. Move rounds onto parchment lined baking sheet, placing them ½ inch apart.13. Place no more than ½ teaspoon of filling in the center of each round.14. Fold three edges up to form a triangle. Pinch corners.15. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.16. Remove from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly brown around the edges.17. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes.18. Move Hamantaschen to cooling racks and cool completely.

No comments:

This site is designed to explain, in detail, concepts, techniques and recipes, making them accessible to the novice as well as providing a springboard of creativity to the more experienced culinary UNprofessional.

Become a Fan on Facebook

I grew up with a Jewish mother who cooked dinner almost every night, using such well defined measurements as "a little of that" and "a bit of this" and a chemist father who constantly corrected me until I learned how to properly beat an egg. These two different perspectives led to…well, me. In my teenage years, I started experimenting...with food, that is...and created what my parents could only call "concoctions." Even though those "concoctions" were, admittedly, grossly inedible, I learned on my own how flavors and textures complement and clash each other.